[NEW] Carol- what came after

-3- photography

Chapter 3 is hereeee!

tw: slightly sexual content

"Do you ever wish you were born different?" 

"In what way?" Carol asked Therese over her shoulder as she stood in front of the stove and prepared dinner. She made some eggs in the pan. 

"I don't know. I mean, if we were both born different, we wouldn't have to hide our relationship from.. well, everyone." Therese said and drew some scribbles on the shopping list that was on the counter. Carol stayed silent for a moment and sighed. 

"I accepted the way things are long ago, Therese. Why do you ask?" 

"I think it's unfair, that we have to live like that." Therese said lost in thought and shrugged. "Do you think that we can hold hands in public one day? That I get to kiss you somewhere, at the beach or the park maybe? Where people could see us?" 

"Perhaps. We have to wait. Right now, we can't." Carol reminded her and Carol sounded as if she was on queue. As if she didn't like talking about such things. Therese started to wonder if her thoughts were as absurd as Carol made it seem. Two women, or two men, holding hands and kissing in public? That was far from being reality, and Therese suddenly felt childish for having such thoughts. 

For a while, they stayed silent. Therese thought about how she wanted to shout from the roofs that she loved Carol and not any man, how the people did it in the romantic movies she had seen. She decided to push her imagination and dreams of showing the world that she loved Carol aside. Therese drew more scribbles on the paper, a few peonies and a rose. She then thought of drawing a whole flower field, but she realized she drew on the shopping list, which still may be used for the groceries. Then, the pen was put down. 

Suddenly, a thought Therese had for quite some time popped up in her head. "Carol, can I photograph you?" She asked and Carol turned around, she started smiling faintly. "I haven't had any people who let me photograph them in some time." Therese continued. "Would you let me?"

"Of course, why not? I liked the pictures you took of me in December. When I bought the Christmas tree." 

Therese nodded and hummed. "They were decent, but I can do better than that." Carol chuckled and walked over to Therese, kissing her on the head softly. Her hand brushed over her shoulder ever so slightly. 

"Where do you want to photograph me?" Carol asked and let her fingers run through Therese's hair, trying to ease out some knots, her other hand drawing lazy circles on her back. 

"I thought, maybe in bed." Therese said and held her breath for a second, not sure how Carol would react, how idea might make her look. 

"Is that so?" Carol asked teasingly, and Therese heard from her voice that she was smiling. She knew Carol liked that idea. "Well, I'm open to that." 

"I've never tried something like that. I usually take portraits from close by, but I tend to find them boring. I'd like to.. try something different, to see if it works for me."

That afternoon, Carol got ready for being photographed. She spent long time in the bathroom, doing her makeup. Therese insisted that she didn't need any makeup at all, but Carol was more adamant and spent extra long time powdering her nose and face and applying mascara. She was wearing a nightgown-like dress, in a pink silk fabric. She came out of the bathroom while Therese put up her camera and looked absolutely marvelous. Her hair was kind of curly, and in Therese's eyes, she looked perfect from head to toe. She had to suppress herself from blushing again. 

"How do you want me?" Carol asked with a smile on her lips, she didn't seem nervous at all. That wasn't how Therese imagined things to be, that she was the shy one and not the one who was supposed to actually be photographed.